Sealing-in machine



Jan. 2, 1940. J. F. DONOVAN ET AL 18,5304

" sEALING-IN MACHINE Filed April 13, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 1 lll/1111111111111 .fi- Y iA f///////////////// NN il Inventors John FT Donovan,

@i ff z Fr-ank J. Malice,

fl`@ 4 s 0 gi b9 4f y T-heir- Attorney.

Jan.2,1940. J. F. Dom/AN ml. 2,185,704

sEALINc--IN MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Inventors John F Donovan, F'r-anKJ. Malloy,

Their' "Attorneg,

Patented'isnlrz, 1940 UNITED STATES SEAIJNG-IN MACHINE John F. Donovan, East cleveland, and Frank J. Malloy, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of x New York Application April 13, 1938, Serial No. 201,796 10 Claims. (Cl. 49-2) Our invention relates to machines for sealing electric lamps, radio tubes and other like devices, and more particularly to a machine for fusing a bulb in a deiinite relation to a stem or other vitreous body so as to definitely position the iliament or other objects carried by the stem or other vitreous body in said bulb. Some difficulty has been experienced heretofore in retaining the bulb, stem and filament of an incandescent lamp in the desired relation yduring the sealing of the bulb and stem. Prior to -our invention, the manufacture of an* accurate lamp required the presence of an operator at each sealing machine to adjust these parts to the correct relationship before the seal cooled. This manual method of adjusting the stem and bulb is not reliable; it requires frequent relieving of theoperator; and, in addition, is requires special apparatus for permitting the adjustment and for showing therelationship of the lamp`parts.' The bulb and stem are disarranged during the sealing operation by slight irregularities in size and thickness .thereof and by changes in the alignment of the parts of the sealing machine.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a machine for sealing the bulb and stem or other vitreous body together in proper alignment to each other. Another object of our invention is to provide a sealing machine for holding slightly irregular bulbs and stems in proper alignment during the sealing operation, and still another object of our invention is to provide a sealing machine in which the sealing heads retaintheir proper, alignment at-all times. Still other objects and advantages of our. invention will be apparent from the detailed'description which follows and the accompanying drawings of one species thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a vertical section through one half of a sealing machine comprising our invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof with.

various portions broken away to show the underlying portions; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the lower portion of one of the heads of Athe machine; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on a larger scale of the bulb and stem holding portions of one of the heads; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of jaw opening and vertically adjusting means for the upper portions pf theheads; and Fig. 6 is a partially sectioned perspective'vi'ew of a clutch for controlling the rotationof one of the heads, taken '.alongline 646 of Fig. 1.r

Referring toFigs. l and prises a'qplurality 4(sixteen) of heads I0, each having a'separate Vlower portion -II for holding 2, the machine coma. lamp stem I2 and a separate upper portion I3 for holding a lamp bulb I4. The lower portions II 'of theheads I0 are mounted at regular spaced intervals around the periphery of the ring I5 which in turn is supported by the spider I6, and. the upper portions I3 are mounted in alignment with the lower portions II on the ring I1 which is mounted on a plurality of supports I8 located between every other head I0 on the iirst ring I5. The spider I6 is indexed in a counter-clockwise direction and advances the heads I0 in turn through the sixteen stations located in the circular path i9 at which the various'sealing operations take place. The ring type construction is believed to be largely responsible for the proper alignment of the stem and bulb supporting means at all times and places ail the supports for the bulb supporting means out of the range of the sealing iires. The spider I6 is mounted on the hollow shaft 2li which extends downward through an aperture -in the frame 2i and issupportedby the ball bearing 22 resting thereon and is indexed by the spider 23 attached to the lower end thereof.

.ehine. The indexing movements of the heads l@ carries them first through stations I and II which are occupied by an operator or byv mechanical means for inserting the lamp stem i2 into the lower portion ii thereof. The stem I2 shown is.

of the so-ealled tipless variety having a ilared stem tube 2i definitely aligned ,with the axis of the stem, an 'exhaust tube 23 extending down- Wardly therefrom and also aligned with said axis, leading-in wires 29 and. 30- and the lament 3l mounted on the upper ends of ltheleading-)in wires 2Q andr 3@ in a definite relation to the stem and exhaust tubes 2l and 2t respectively. The exhaust tube 28 and the lower ends of the leadingin Wires 29 land 3@ are inserted into the aperture in thecap 32 of spindle 33' which isA only sumciently large to allow their rapid insertion thereinto. The stem I2 is pushed down until the dared stem tube .2l passes over the raised boss 34 on the cap 32 and comes to rest on the sloping upper portion of said cap 32. The stem I2 is definitely located in the axis of the head Il) by the boss 34 and the aperture of cap 32 in which the exhaust tube 2 8 is locatedand ispositioned vertically bythe cap 32. lThe said cap 32 is mounted directly on the spind1e33 which in- 2 l, Y creases'inlsize at the bottom and which is mount- Y ed, as shown in Fig. 3, in the sleeve 35 in bracket 35. The sleeve 35 is provided with a flange 35 on its upper end'which rests on the ball bearing- 31 carried by the bracket 36 which in turn is mounted on the ring I5.A When the stem I2 is mountedlon the spindle 33, said spindle 33 is located much* lower than shown'in the drawings and is supported by the collar 33 thereon which. rests against the bushing 39 located in the sleeve 35.

Following the indexing movement of the head 1 I2 which carries it to station III, the lamp bulb I4 Lis/nserted in the upper portion I3 of the head I /ither by an operator or mechanically. The mechanical means for supplying the bulb I4 may, for instance, consist simply of a turret which car- /ies the bulb I4 into a position below the upper /portion I3 of the head I0 since the jaws 40 and against, by movement of hollow spindle 43 in'the sleeve 4'4. Normally the spindle or sleeve 43 is retained in the up position by the spring 45 located between the collar 46 on the top end of the spindle 43 and the sleeve 44 which is stationary 'and lis supported by the bracket 41 mounted on the upper ring I1. A ange 44' onJ the sleeve 44 rests on the ball bearing 43 carried by the bracket 41, and a collar 49 attached to the lower end of the dsleeve 44 by the studs 50 prevents said sleeve 44 cam 53 ismounted on the shaft 55 which is geared to the main drive shaft 25 by means not shown.

Atlthfsame instant that the positioning fingers 4I are-,moved down, the jaws 40 which are pivoted on the pins 55 extending from said fingers are-'spread by the downward movement of the spindle orsleeve 51 so as to pass freely about the bulb |4.: The spindle 51 is located within the tubular'spindls 43 and has a head 53 onv the lower end thereof which has a circumferential groove therein in which the end of an arm extending from each jaw 40 is located. The spindle 51 is normally held in a raised position and the jaws 43 in a closed position by the spring 59 which is vcompressed between the sleeve 50 on the upper end of the spindle 51 and the bushing 3| which is kept from moving by the studs 50-53. The jaws 40 are separated and the spindle 51 is moved down by the lever 52 (Fig. 5) which is moved by cam 54 on shaft 55 so as to-engage and force downward the collar 33 on the upper end of said spindle. The bulb I4 is positioned vertically by the portions of the fingers 4| which extend inward toward the center and which have the same general contour as the crown or top of the bulb I4. The said bulb is also located concentrically with respect to the head I0 by the downwardly bulb -Id4-and,tpge therwith the Yother portions of 1 the engagement ofv the studs 50-50 with the lower end of the slots in sleeve 43. The studs 50-50 are located ina close fitting aperture in the sleeve 44 which holds them in place, are screwed into the collar 49 which prevents the `sleeve 44 from moving upward. and extend into slots in the tubular spindle 43, the bushing 6I and the spindle 51. Now before the head I0 indexes from station III, the spindle 33 is raised, carrying the stem I2 into the bulb I4 and into the proper sealing position. The spindle 33 is raised by the lever 61 (Fig. 2) which engages the,

shoe 63 on the lowerv end of spindle 33 and raises it above the track 59. The lever 31 engages the shoe 63 through the roller 13 and is fastened to .the shaft 1| supported by the'frame '2| and turned by the lever 12 which engages ways of the cam 13 on the main shaft 26 through the roller 14. I

The next indexing movement of the head I3 causes both the lower and upper portions and )I3 to be rotated so 4that the sealing res located at some of the succeeding stations thereof are caused to play equally on all sides of theseal portion of the bulb I4. The rotation is brought about, first, by the movement of the roller 15, which is attached to the gear v15 on the lower end of the sleeve 35, away from between the 'track rails 11 and 13 which releases the head I0 from the track and allows it to rotate and, second, by the striking of the release latch 19'of the vclutch (Fig. 6) against the stationary roller 3| (Fig. 2) which causes said clutch 33 to be engaged. The latch 19 is pivoted on the pin 32 extending from the gear 16 and before striking the roller '3| it is so positioned that the notched end' 19' thereof is locked with the notched end portion 33' of the lever 33 which prevents said lever 33 from swinging and keeps the dog 34 thereon out of engagement with the notch in the hub* 35 of L the gear 31. When the latch 19 strikes the roller 3|, said latch 19 is momentarily turnedv so that the torsion spring 33 located on a boss thereof adjacent 'the gear 16 is more tightly coiled and the lever 33 is allowed to swing so that the torsion springy 39 located on a boss thereof adjacent' the gear 15 partially uncoils.- As shown in Fig. I, the gear 31 is constantly in motion dueto its engagement with thelarge gear 93 `of a ldrive system consisting of the gear 9|), the ring gear 9| attached thereto, the gears 92 and 93. on shaft 94 (Fig. 2), the gear 95 on shaft 93 and the bevel ygears 91 and 93 on shaft 95K and the drive shaft 26.l The gear 93 engages gear 31 on each of the sixteen heads I0 and is mounted on the boss 99 extending from the frame' 2| and is supported by three -equidistantly spaced rollers |33 each I -fastened t'said frame 2| by a bracket I3I. The shafts 94 and 95 are held in place bybrackets (not shown) attached to dierent portions of the frame 2|. The clutch`33 drives both lower and upper portions II and |3011 the head I3 through the gear 15 which is directly mounted. on' the sleeve 35` of thel lower port n and engages the gear |02 of a systemA which agesthe 'sleeve -44 v 33. The gear |02 is attached to a. vertical shaft e |04 which is held in place by arms extending from brackets 36 and 41 and which is provided with a gear |05 in engagement with the gear on sleeve 44.

In this particular instance, the bulb I4 is not heated until it is indexed into station V where fires from the burners |01 on the outside of the machine are directed upon the neck of the bulb I4 adjacent the flared portion of the stem tube 21. Similar sets of burners I01occupy each of the stations V to XII inclusive and other sets of burners |08 are located inward radially from the *heads I0 at stations VI to XII inclusive. The

burners |08 are supported by means (not shown) extending from the lstationary center post |09 of the machine and over the top of the heads 'I0 to adjacent supports. In accordance with general practice, air is blown against the seal throughthe lateral holes IIO in the cap 32 to assist in separating from the bulb I4 the excess neck portion or cullet, and air is also blown into the bulb I4 through the exhaust tube 28 toexpand and properly form the seal. The air for the former purpose is blown into the lower end of the spindle through a hole (not shown) in the track 63 registering therewith at the desired station of the head I0 and passes upward in the space between the spindle 33 and the tube III mounted therein and between the exhaust tube 28 and the cap 32 to the holes I I0. The air for the latter purpose enters the lower end of the tube III through a hole in the track 69 registering therewith at another sta-tionI of the head I0 and passes through the said tube III and the exhaust tube 28 to the interior of the bulb I4.

Upon being indexed from station XIII, the rotation of the head I0 is stopped by the engagement of the roller II2 of the clutch 80 against the stationary stop bar II3. which causes the lever 83 on which the rollerf||2 is mounted to swing so that the dog 84 is pulled from the notch 85 and the latch 19 is-allowed to swing so that the notched end 19' engages the notched end 83 of said lever 83. The latch 19 prevents the lever 83 from pivoting to return the dogr 84 to the notch when the roller I I2 passes from the bar I'I3. The partial rotation of the head Illafter the disengagement of the dog 84 carries the roller 15 on the gear 16 between the track rails 11 and 18 which stops the rotation of said head I0 until it again passes from station III to repeat the cycle of operations already described. Between stations )UV and XV the track 69 declines very vrapidly and the spindle 33 is separated from the stem I2 by the downward movement thereof which continues until the collar 38 thereon rests against the bushing 39. The stem I2 and bulli I4 are now Acompletely' sealed together and are removed from the head I0 at either of stations XV or XVI by simply pushingthe top end of the spindle 51 downward until the jaws 40 separate and release the bulb I4.

While we hay."` shown and described a preferred embodim t of our invention, it will be obvious to those,.skilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications or omissions maybe made therein without departing from the spirit of our-invention.

1. A sealing head comprising a spindle for supnitely porting a stem in axial alignment therewith, means located axially of said spindle and a denite distance therefrom for engaging the upper end and sides of a bulb to position said bulb in a definite relation to said spindle, and jaws located adjacent said positioning means andarranged to grip said bulb and push its upper end and sides into engagement with said positioning means to cause said bulband stem to be definitely positioned and aligned.

2. A sealing head comprising a spindle for supporting a stem in axial alignment therewith, a

second spindle axially aligned with said '.Iiist-v mentioned spindle and having means'attached thereto at a definite distance from said iirstmentionedspindle for engaging the upper end and sides of a bulb and positioning it definitely along the axis passing through said spindles, and jaws mounted on said second-mentioned spindle and arranged to grip said bulb and push the upper end thereof against said positioning means to cause said bulb to be axially aligned and defipositioned with reference to the said second-mentioned spindle, and means for supportf ing said second-mentioned spindle and permitting axial movement thereof to displace said jaws and positioning means to carry said bulb to a denite axial position with reference to said firstmentioned spindle and the stem thereon.

3. A sealing head comprising lower and upper portions for supporting a stern and bulb respectively, said lower portion comprising a spindle having means at its upper end for supporting a stem in deiinite alignment therewith, and said upper portion comprising a second spindle axially aligned with said first-mentioned spindle' and having means attached thereto for positioning said bulb definitely along the axis thereof,\and jaws for gripping said bulb and pushing the upper end thereof against said positioning means to cause said bulb to be aligned with said first-mentioned spindle and held in a definite axial relation thereto andv to the stern thereon, a shaft extending longitudinally of said spindles, gears attached to each of said spindles and other gears attached to `said shaft and meshing with said first-mentioned gears for rotating both of said spindles at the same rate of speed. l

4. A sealing head comprising a spindle for supporting a stem in axial alignment therewith, a sleeve located above said spindle in axialalignment therewith and having bulb-positioning fingers attached thereto, a second spindle located said bulb and push its upper end into engagemen withK said positioning iingers, and supporting means for said sleeve permitting axial movement thereof to carry said bulb into definite relation with said first-mentioned spindle' and the stem thereon.

5. A sealing head comprising a spindle for supporting a stem in axial alignment therewith, a.

sleeve located above said spindle in axial alignment therewith and having bulb-positioning fingers .attached thereto, a second spindle 1ocated within said sleeve and movable relatively thereto, bulb-engaging jaws pivotally mounted i on pins extending from said bulb-positioning iingers and having their ends\e\ngaged by said second-mentioned spindle whereby relative move- Y ment vof said secorid-mentioned\spind'|e causes said jaws to grip said bulb and push its upper end into engagement with said positioning lingers, and supporting means for said sleeve permitting axial movement thereof to carry said bulb i'nto definite relation with said first-mentioned spindle and the stem thereon.

, riphery thereof for supporting said ring and causing the said upper head portions to be moved with said lower head portions when said structure is rotated.

7. A sealing machine for uniting a stem and bulb comprising a plurality of heads each having lower and upper portions for supporting a stem and bulb respectively in the desired relation, a. rotatable turret-like structure having said lower head portions mounted at spaced intervals about the periphery thereof, a ring supporting said upper head portions in alignment with said lower head portions, supports attached to said ring and to said turret-like structure adjacent the'periphery thereof for supporting said ring and causing the said upper head portions to be moved with said lower head portions when said structure is rotated, gears attached to both the lower and upper head portions for causing rotation thereof, and a shaft adjacent each head with gears at bth. ends meshin g with said first-mentioned gears for causing ro ation of both head portions at the same rateof speed.

8. A sealing' machine for uniting a stern and bulb comprising a plurality of heads each having lower and upper portions for supporting a stem and bulb respectively in the desired relation, a rotatable turret-like structure having said lower head portions mounted at spaced intervals about the periphery thereof, la ring supporting said upper head portions in alignment with said lower head portions, supports attached to said ring and to said turret-like structure adjacent the periphery thereof for supporting said ring and-causing said upper head portions to be moved with said lower head portions when said structure is rotated, gears attached to both the lower and upper head portions for causing rota-- tion thereof, a shaft adjacent each head with gears at both ends meshing with seid nrstgmenl tioned gears for causing rotation of both head 'portions at the same rate of speed, means located adjacent the path of travel of said heads for engaging and rotating s'aid heads. and a clutch attached to each'of said heads for disconnecting said rotating means during part of the rotation of said turret-like structure.

9. A sealing machine for uniting a stem and 5 bulb comprising a plurality of heads each having lower and upper portions, said lower portion comprising a spindle having means at its upper end Vfor supporting a stem in denite alignment therewith, and said upper-portion comprising a l0 second spindle -axially aligned withsaid rstmentioned spindle and having means -attached thereto for positioning a bulb axially thereof and jaws for gripping said bulb and pushing the upper end thereofv against said positioning means, a 15 rotatable turret-like structure having said lower head portions mounted at spaced intervals about the periphery thereof, a ring supporting said upper head portions in alignment with said lower head portions, and supports attached to said ring 20 and to said turret-like structure adjacent the periphery thereof for supporting said ring and causing said upper head portions to be moved with said lower head portions when said structure is rotated. 1,0. A sealing machine for uniting a stem and bulb comprising a plurality of heads each having lower and upper portions, said lower portion comprising a spindle having means at its upper end for supporting a stem in deiinite alignment there- 80 with, and said upper portion comprising a second spindle axially aligned with said first-mentionedv spindle and having means attached thereto for engaging the upper end and sides of a bulb and denitely positioning it, jaws attached to said l85 second-mentioned spindle for gripping said bulb and pushing it against said positioning means,

and means for supporting said second-mentioned spindle and permitting axial movement thereof to displace said jaws and positioning means to carry the bulb to a dei'lnite position with relation to said first-mentioned spindle and the stem thereon, gears attached to both the spindles of the lower and upper head portions for causing rotation thereof, ashaft adjacent each head with 'gears at both ends meshing with said first-mentioned gears for causing rotation of ,both head portions at the same rate of speed, a ring having the said lower head portions mounted at spacedintervals thereon/a rotatable spider for supporting said ring, a second ring supporting said upper 5 head portions, and supports mounted on said rst-mentioned ring and engaging said secondmentioned ring for holding it with said upper head portions in aiignment with'said lower head portions.

JOHN F. DONOVAN. FRANK J. MALLOY. 

